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Pics of the day's work

drooartz

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Amazing how a 10 minute project can set you up for all sorts of stuff. With the bonnet now safely off and stowed, I can really get to work!

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Man - I'm jealous..the access you BE owners have once the bonnet is off..unreal. I guess I could too..but its hood, then fender, then another fender, then the valance.
I still needed help with my hood to avoid scratching (further) the paint.

Good luck Drew..fun stuff coming up with your new Hap1275 coming!

BTW..those who use engine hoists, am I the only one who had to jack up the car to get the support legs to clear the suspension? The spacing on my hoist support legs means one wheel had to come off the ground so the hoist could roll under..Plus on the opposite side, the leg/caster was too tall to go under the A-arm. No problems, but I didn't like having the car on jackstands while moving the engine.

I'm going to have to change that on the way back in with the new engine.
 
Haha, yep I needed another 3/4 of an inch to get the hoist under.

And for the rest of the story, front tilt bonnets are the thing for old guys.
 
I never remove or install an engine in any car without removing both front wheels....they get in my way while I'm sliding around underneath to do things I forgot to do before hooking the engine to the hoist!

I just jack the rear of the car up higher than the front!
 
Hmmmm, great minds think alike Drew :smile:, I got your block and head out yesterday, caustic washed them, and sent your block off for boring.

When I took your and Ray's engine in, I did so in a time I had my biggest jobload rush in my shop's history, I took in like 12 engines in less than a month, all the engines leading up to your and Rays have been nightmares, bad blocks, bad cranks, etc.,etc., each little setback can easily cost a week or two as you get the needed cores to replace the bad ones, and with a 12 engine backlog, it doesn't take long to get a month or two behind halfway thru the run, but the good news is it's your and Ray's time now. So hopefully I'll start to post progress report on you two's engine builds here now.

The first report on your block, was man was it rusty on the inside, I took it outside to remove the freeze plugs and blow out the block water passages with air, I think I covered the entire block with a orange cloud :smile: Thee good news is that the block is not any worse for wear from what I can tell and that's what a caustic wash is for, to get all that crap out of there. I'm guessing the last person who had this engine running had a water leak, and just kept adding water to the system, never good idea, this can make for a nightmare in a running engine, it almost imposible to completely flush out all the corrosion, but in the case of a rebuild this can be taken care of, this caustic wash was just the first one, I'll will do again after boring and other machine work is done, then do a final hot water and cleaner wash before assembly starts.
 
...12 engine jobs plus my carbs...hehehehe
 
Hap Waldrop said:
Hmmmm, great minds think alike Drew :smile:, I got your block and head out yesterday, caustic washed them, and sent your block off for boring.

It's good to hear that you've been busy -- and equally nice to hear that the motor work is beginning! I'm certainly glad I decided to have this one rebuilt and not use it as is. I just hope it all checks out.

I've got to get it in gear now, though, if I'm going to be ready for when the motor comes back... :smile:
 
Drew,

I popped the bonnet off mine awhile ago and it makes work so, so, so much easier! So what engine is in there now? Looks like it has a nice coat of paint?
 
Tunebug still has the original 948 and smoothcase in there right now. That will be coming out in the next week or so, to be boxed up and stored. Engine looks fine from the outside, but probably not so good on the inside. :smile:
 
tony barnhill said:
...12 engine jobs plus my carbs...hehehehe

Add to that about 6 more sets of carbs, about 6 head porting jobs, a couple of car builds, and easily another dozen other odd jobs, and you get the picture, nothing you don't already know about:smile: Tony your carbs on the build table now, mostly cleaned up, and parts ordered. The jobload gets overwhelming at times, and can get me stressed out sometimes, don't get me wrong, this is a good problem to have, and I've started to realize you do what you can and just keep moving, it will all get done eventually, probably not on shedule, but done nvertheless. I stared to realize forcasting job completion is like forcasting the weather forcast 6 months from now, it's nothing more than a wild guess :smile:

With that being said, I'm looking forward to building these two hot rod 1275s :smile:
 
Hope you have enough time to report here on what you are doing and why to these two engines as they move through your process.

Many of us like to understand if not learn from the experts.

No, I'm not going to open a shop. I'M RETIRED and love every day. LOL
 
Thanks for posting the update, Hap. I know you've been super busy for the last year and, as you say, that's a good thing.

You've seen some of the progress I've made on the Spridget Project ('62 Sprite) and I've been having a ball with it. Fortunately, I have the luxury of working at my own pace.

I'm most excited about the engine build but still have a way to go on the car before I'll begin fitting the drive line. That said, if you should find it necessary to adjust priorities, please feel free to slide Drew's engine ahead of mine...after all, he's wanting to get his BE back on the road and I've got a couple other options for driving while I'm waiting on my new engine. Do NOT confuse the prior statement with a lack of enthusiasm or anticipation on my part. :smile:

Wish I could say "...slow down, Hap...enjoy the two builds...and chill a while..." but I know you better than that. Do keep in mind that you are, however, just one person and one that we think a LOT of. Don't let the stress get to you buddy.

Looking forward to seeing you at the Mitty; I'll be there for all three days.

Ray
 
mccalebr said:
That said, if you should find it necessary to adjust priorities, please feel free to slide Drew's engine ahead of mine...
Very kind of you, Ray. I'm patient, though, and not in any rush. One of the reasons I added a motorcycle back to my stable was to give me a running vehicle for summer motoring.

Tunebug will get done when he gets done. I'd like it to be this summer, but if it slips a bit, so be it. Heck, I've been waiting almost 2 years for a custom steering wheel from a well known builder -- some things just take time. Part of keeping my restoration stress down is not making any committments on the completion date. I've got a nice-to-have date in mind, but that's flexible. As long as I'm making progress, I'm happy.

Hap -- I hope you enjoy the build of our motors. I know I'll enjoy the final product, that's for sure!
 
Great to hear all the progress and coming along.

Jack I must be old or tired of banging my head and trying to stand up straight :wink:
 
And if you do put the car on jackstands don't put the jackstands right in back of the firewall close to the jacking point so you have easy access to work on the front end. You'll quickly discover a Spridgets balance point. Better to make it a 5 point stance.
 
Well, it'll be a while before I can post of photo of my tilt nose '62 Sprite...but I'm workin' on it!

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I fabbed the brackets last week (the fun part for me) and had the cowl tilting...that motivated me to get the front fenders, cowl, and hood stripped (NOT a fun part for me) this week so I can do some body repair and very soon, weld it all together.

THEN...tilt nose!

Ray
 
Are you going to fit some gas springs to ease the lifting?
 
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